EVALUATION: Response to Media Brief

Dear Ms Heath,


In response to your creative brief I would like to introduce to you ‘The Graces’ 2011 Spring collection. The campaign draws its inspiration from mythology as suggested in your brief. The aim of the production was to show that a woman can be whoever she wishes to be, despite her current financial or emotional circumstances; that by the fragrance she chooses to wear she could reflect the personality she wishes to portray at that time or the person she is today: mother, career woman, seductress or goddess. These aims were an important element of the campaign as women today have so many roles in society. The ultimate message is that a woman can be multi-faceted. ‘The Graces’ reflect these complexities by offering three varieties: Euphrosyne, Thalia and Aglaia.

The brand of ‘The Graces’ is a new label for 2011. The heritage of the brand has been developed through its mythological connotations and the Garamond Font used in the brand nameplate connotes tradition, style and elegance. This gives the brand an alluded sense of familiarity for the consumer. The tagline of “Beauty, Pleasure, Blossom” stems from the representation that the three characters, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, portrayed in the myths from which they came. It also supports the production aim that women are more than they appear. All women, no matter what demographic they fit, aspire to be beautiful and seek pleasure, whereas blossom offers connotations of nature and motherhood.

This leads me on to the Target Audience for this campaign: women. The primary target audience for ‘The Graces’ is similar to the ITV Sales category W3: women aged 16-34. These women could be from any social demographic background, but would primarily be more affluent due to the price of the fragrance: £40 for 75ml. However, the campaign would not target these women exclusively as all ‘aspirers’ could buy into the glamorous lifestyle we are portraying and would offer additional revenue. In addition to the ‘aspiring’ primary audience, the individual fragrances in the range could also appeal to alternative audiences. Thalia, blossom, for instance would also appeal to ‘mainstreamers’, ‘utopians’ and mothers whereas Euphrosyne, pleasure, would appeal to egoists. The brand as a whole could even appeal to ‘drifters’, those who can’t make their mind up about who they are, thus buying into the whole range. This wide ranging target audience has many needs and this has been incorporated into the campaign through the portrayal of three very different personalities- the dark, sultry seductress that is Euphrosyne, who needs attention and prominence, she holds her arms above her head in a sexually submissive suggestive manner, is dressed in leather and wears heavy makeup, who gazes at the viewer from the dark of night; the hippy chick, Thalia, who needs to nurture and find meaning in life, she sits cross legged amongst natural tones and hues, in a floaty cotton dress, sexy yet motherly; and Aglaia, who needs affiliation and to feel safe, she is a beautiful, natural women who is self-doubting and cannot see how wonderful she truly is. These three characters meet the wide ranging needs of a vast target audience.

I would like the campaign is to be launched within the first right hand three pages of magazines Vogue, Tatler and Bazaar to begin. These high end magazines offer us the ability to target women who still have disposable income despite current economic situations; these women are more likely to be career women with many roles who would buy into our messages. The second phase of the campaign would then launch within Cosmopolitan, Company and Style magazines, further drawing more of the TA in. In terms of cross media promotions I believe that an event at this time would be inappropriate. However, press releases (see R&P pg 3) have been sent to many publishers, department stores and buyers. The advertising standards authority regulations have been adhered to in the development of these products and no unreasonable claims are suggested in my production. This is obviously important as if the ASA found my advertising to be inappropriate or not adhering to their standards they could ban this production.

Both primary and secondary research was carried out as was continuing research at each stage of development. These informed decisions that were made in the final layout of the adverts. For instance in using reed networks I discovered that an ethereal background was more popular than a field or nightclub setting. This supports the notion that the power of fragrance advertising lies in the ability to make the consumer dream. The escapism that fragrance advertising offers the consumer is clearly gratifying.

The codes of fragrance advertising that I have conformed to in this campaign are, firstly, the placement of an enlarged perfume bottle in the bottom right third of each layout. This offers the opportunity of exposure even in non purchase due to unconscious recognition in the consumer from flicking through the magazine. It is an enlarged bottle to engage with the ‘need for prominence’ and as a suggestion that the consumer will get more for their money. In addition I have used an attractive model in the campaign- she represents the middle age range of the target audience and plays all three characters in the campaign to further emphasize the production message. In two products, Euphrosyne and Thalia, the model is staged in a full body shot, and in one, Aglaia, a close up is utilised. Close up has been chosen in this product as the fragrance represents and is supported by the tagline ‘Beauty’ presented as a tattoo on the model’s wrist. The use of the Fibonacci spiral was used to layout the original photographic image in which the direct gaze is suggestive of the model viewing herself in the mirror. These aspects deliberately further emphasize to the consumer the exquisite symmetrical nature of the model’s features. Despite the model being attractive, the use of the pen drawn arrows on the face connote plastic surgery, along with the direct address and cool ‘chocolate box’ expression, this engages the viewer sending a message of irony to the TA that they don’t need mechanical alterations to make them beautiful- they already are. Furthermore the message is that the only thing they need to accentuate their beauty is the fragrance, Aglaia.

The representation of women in this campaign is positive. The character of Euphrosyne could be seen to support ‘male gaze’ criticisms of portraying women as a commodity and although she simulates a gesture which could be suggested as submissive, holding her arms above her head as if being held down or tied up, I have tried to subvert that representation by staging Thalia, who could be seen as her binary opposite, in a similar stance, thus connoting the posture as an open, relaxed gesture, representing a woman who is comfortable in her own skin, day or night, single or attached, at work or at play. The colours used on the three products further support the connotations of each fragrance. On Euphrosyne the black, purple and red signify night, richness and passion which is supported by the tagline ‘pleasure’ and the rich heavy notes of the fragrance itself. On Thalia the natural tones of brown and creams signify Mother Nature, ‘blossom’ and the flowery notes of the fragrance. On Agalia the skin tones are dominant, the blues of the rest of the composition are drawn from the models eyes signifying fusion and calmness which is supported by the cool expression and the cool fresh notes of the fragrance. Each advert represents a part of the TA as well as the fragrance product itself.

Having trialled this campaign I have had extremely positive feedback. Both, teenage girls, aged 14-19, and professional women 20-36 claimed that the advertising would appeal to them, and as such they would look out for the fragrance in department stores. The majority agreed that when buying fragrance it was usually the scent which sold it to them, however they liked the message of the campaign and would definitely make an effort to try it out in testers. In order to address this I would like to improve the production by adding the experiential element, in a peelable sample, to the advertising pages. Obviously this would have a considerable impact on the cost of this advertising campaign.

Finally, I would like to remind you of my unique selling point: this campaign meets the needs and expectations of today’s women. Whoever they are, whoever they want to be- this fragrance will accentuate them. They will be beautiful, realize pleasure and they will blossom.

Beauty, Pleasure, Blossom?

That’s up to you!